I first met him one Christmas many years ago and had just started dating his niece. His siblings and their mates were in the kitchen, and I was sitting in the living room. I remember him standing in the door way between the kitchen and the living room looking at me and saying, “He looks just like a….” His siblings all agreed that I had some resemblance to their family.

He served in Viet Nam. He was a cop, and became the chief of detectives in a larger city, but those aren’t what I admire most. As time went on I would visit his mother on my trips through that state. She would often mention that he picked her up for church, took her to get groceries, and numerous other errands. He did the same for many of her friends and later for many other seniors after her death.

Three days ago his wife found him on the front porch slumped over and unconscious. He had suffered a massive heart attack. Over two hundred visitors have stopped by to see him in the last two days. He is not a well-known personality. He has not authored books. He is not on a speaking circuit. He is simply a retired, quiet, humble man serving seniors who need a friend, an errand run, a small repair, and even a Bojangles biscuit. On the morning of his heart attack he had just delivered a Bojangles biscuit to a man in a local nursing home.

We tend to elevate those in full-time Christian service, and I guess that is okay to a degree. But, few in full-time ministry are touching the hearts on a daily basis with the servant spirit he has. I am intentionally leaving out his name. He wouldn’t want the attention or the accolades.

Please pray for his healing, but there is more we can do. We can have all the success in the world and still be miserable on the inside. OR, we can choose to spend our lives helping others. I choose the latter. A family resemblance? I hope so!

Stan Means
Elder Source Senior Minisitries